Fake eyelashes live up to name with false labeling: poll

FAUX FABRICATION:：An inspection by a watchdog found that some false eyelash products’ labels were written to mislead about the item’s origin

By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 - Page 3

More than 80 percent of the false eyelashes inspected by the Consumers’ Foundation are improperly labeled with misleading and unclear information about the country of manufacture, ingredients and expiry dates, the watchdog said.

Of the 16 false eyelashes that the foundation randomly selected from cosmetic shops, retailers and, 81.25 percent failed to comply with labeling regulations, with two of the products having completely blank packaging, it said.

Three samples did not have the required information about the product’s country of manufacture, but what is more worrying is that “some of the labels were deliberately misleading, claiming that the product was made in the ‘PRC [People’s Rebublic of China] (Taiwan-supervised)’, or saying that the product was designed by one company and manufactured by another,” which can mislead consumers about where the item was actually made, Consumers’ Foundation secretary-general Lei Li-fen (雷立芬) said.

Eight of the samples either lacked a detailed list of ingredients, or had it only in English, while four failed to print their manufacture and expiry dates, the organization said.

Consumers’ Foundation chairman Mark Chang (張智剛) said he was stunned by “the presence of unlabeled products in the market years after the promulgation of the Commodity Labeling Act (商品標示法).”

Article 15 of the act stipulates that importers or manufacturers of products that lack proper labels will be issued a warning by the authorities to make immediate corrections and will face a maximum fine of NT$200,000 (US$6,762) if they do not adhere to it.

“The government should rigorously enforce labelling regulations. The Consumers’ Foundation is a watchdog, not a law-enforcing entity — the protection of consumers’ rights and safety ultimately depends on the government,” he said.